Lawyers acting for victims of sexual abuse at Western Australia's HMAS Leeuwin naval base in the 1970s and 1980s have lodged a submission calling on their cases to be considered by the royal commission into the sexual abuse of children.

The lawyers have argued that unlike other cases of abuse in the Australian Defence Force, the Leeuwin cadets, who were 15 and 16 at the time, are a special case.

If the submission is accepted it could see Defence chiefs forced to testify, as the Federal Government will be in the same frame as religious and educational institutions.

Of all the cases of abuse in the Australian Defence Force - sexual and otherwise - to have been aired over the past few years, the cases of the young naval cadets at HMAS Leeuwin are among the most graphic and harrowing.

Between 1960 and 1984, 13,000 young boys joined the Navy as junior recruits. The majority did their first year of training at the WA naval base.

Over that time, many were subjected to a culture of bullying and bastardisation that in some cases went as far as rape, sexual assault and painful and humiliating discipline.

Leon van Brussel is just one of those who have struggled ever since.

"Every person who entered HMAS Leeuwin never left Leeuwin the same person," he said.

"It ruined my life. I lost a marriage over it ... I don't sleep very well.

"I've had depression very bad ... I've had alcohol problems in my time."

Among a list of humiliations, Mr van Brussel recalls being scrubbed – held down by others in the shower and scrubbed with a cleaning brush.

He says he was forced to bunny hop carrying his bedding on his back until his hands bled.

'We're seeing broken men'

Compared to others he believes he got off lightly. Mr van Brussel says others were raped or had objects forced into them by other more senior recruits.

"The senior people should have known and would have known what was going on," he said.

Mr van Brussel is one of 227 victims who have lodged complaints with the Defence Response Abuse Taskforce (DART).

He is one of 26 represented by Adair Donaldson, a partner with Shine Lawyers and the driving force behind the decision to put the Leeuwin cases before the royal commission into the sexual abuse of children.

"We're talking 15- and 16-year-old boys who were subjected to these horrendous forms of abuse," Mr Donaldson said.

"Young men who went across and wanted to serve their country and yet their lives were destroyed in a period of three to nine months and now we're seeing broken men.

"We're seeing middle-aged men who are broken as a result of what occurred in their youth and something needs to be done to assist them."

Government should be held to account, lawyer says

Mr Donaldson says the Leeuwin experience fits perfectly into the terms of reference of the royal commission.

In his submission, Mr Donaldson argues that since the first formal inquiry into a claim of abuse at Leeuwin was completed in 1971, the government has known that recruits had been and were being abused.

That full report by Judge Trevor Rapke was never released, but what was made public conceded that violent and degrading behaviour did take place and that the physical and mental damage was deplorable.

The federal government subsequently refused to release the redacted section of the report, even when it was called as evidence in subsequent legal action.

Mr Donaldson argues this is the same tactic used by religious institutions seeking to conceal child abuse records, but he says the Commonwealth is obliged to act as a model litigant and should be held to even higher account.

"We've seen Cardinal [George] Pell forced to give evidence and explain his action and the legal advice he relied upon in defending allegations in relations to sexual abuse," Mr Donaldson said.

"I believe it's high time the Australian Government was held to similar account."

Fight for pension entitlements and medical expenses

The victims hope the royal commission will also help their campaign to have the Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) recognise their claims for medical expenses and pension entitlements.

Even after receiving maximum reparation payments from the DART process, Leeuwin victims have found the DVA refuses to accept their claims because the abuse was never reported at the time it occurred.

He deals with hundreds of Leeuwin veterans and has represented a few in their discussions with the DVA.

"No 15-year-old would have the presence of mind to complete a report when they were bleeding and probably fearing retribution," Mr Heffernan said.

"I know some people have attempted suicide ... I don't know how many have topped themselves but it's something that has to be addressed quickly."

Mr Heffernan has supported the Shine submission with his own affidavit.

"To listen to men who have been raped and whose lives will never be the same ... assaulted and all these horrible other things, you just can't ignore that," he said.

"It breaks your heart to see that. I just think that as a matter of decency they need to have their cases addressed and just accepted and let them get on with what's left of their lives ... it's not too much.

"They've lived in darkness most of their lives. I can't handle that."

Even if the submission is accepted, it could take months before the royal commission shifts its focus to the Leeuwin cases.

For the victims, many of whom have been living with the suffering for more than 40 years, the recognition cannot some soon enough.